Steve Hoffacker Is The OT/PT-Friendly CAPS Instructor
Steve Hoffacker CAPS has been teaching the Certified Aging In Place Specialist program since 2007 and believes that occupational and physical therapists (OTs and COTAs, PTs and PTAs) are the lynchpin of home modifications associated with the CAPS program and people being able to remain in their chosen home indefinitely.
He also is an AOTA associate member and an Approved Provider for AOTA continuing education programs.
As an OT or PT, you connect in a special way with clients who have medical needs (progressive-based conditions or traumatic change needs) as well as those without urgent medical needs who are beginning to experience some mobility, sensory or cognitive issues due to the aging process or a previous injury – and even those with no apparent limitations affecting them. You understand the ADLs and work toward creating a home environment that will be safe, comfortable, convenient, and accessible for your clients – regardless of their age, the condition of their home, or what they are experiencing physically or emotionally. You allow people to age in place in their present homes in an effective way because you understand the process.
The CAPS courses (all three of them) include frequent mentions of OTs and PTs in the texts, but Steve is the only CAPS Instructor who understands the definitive role that OTs and PTs play in the aging in place process and develops this understanding in his course discussions. You will hear various mentions of therapists with other instructors but not the emphasis or knowledge that you get with Steve. While many people have heard of or worked with a PT in the past, they may be less familiar with the role of an OT. However, you won’t need to explain what you do or define OT with Steve – he gets it!
Just as there would not be the amount of interest in aging in place if not for the Baby Boomers, there could not be the focus on creating effective assessments and solutions without the OTs or PTs being involved. Contractors, designers, architects, building designers, interior designers, kitchen and bath designers, suppliers, assistive technology professionals, consultants, non-profits, and equipment and mobility specialists are all important in creating solutions and implementing them, but as far as understanding the aging process, dealing with it, and relating to the clients we want to serve, OTs and PTs are on the front lines.
If you are an OT or PT who wants to take your CAPS coursework with someone who understands your profession and the work you do to impact the home environments of your clients, find a class that Steve is teaching and enroll in it.
